September 2009 Newsletter: The 1970s

At first, the 1970’s seemed that it was going to be more of the same of the 1960’s…..opposition to the Vietnam War continued, and the threat of a nuclear war still existed. But more and more people were becoming disenchanted with their governments and the changes that the Free Decade of the 1960’s brought forth. During the 1970’s, many countries experienced an economic recession partly due to the oil embargos imposed by Arab countries in the Middle East. The decade also saw the rise of women in the political arena with Isabel Peron in Argentina, Indira Ghandi in India, Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo in Portugal, and Margaret Thatcher in England taking active leadership roles. The entertainment world in the 70’s gave way to the rise and fall of disco, the birth of punk rock, ABBA, Bruce Lee, Stephen King and classic movies such as The Godfather, The Godfather 2, Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers, Jaws, and Star Wars just to name a few.

In regards to the royals, during this decade the monarchy was restored to Spain, with the accession of King Juan Carlos, as well as the traditional accession of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. And who can forget the joyous celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. Her Majesty’s celebrations were in stark contrast to the protest in Iran, which led to the Fall of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran during the Iranian Revolution. The 1970’s saw the births of many royals that we follow today on regular basis. Queen Rania and Crown Princesses Mette Marit, Mary, Letizia, Mathilde and Maxima were born during this decade. Little did they know that while growing up in Argentina, Spain, Norway, Belgiuim and Australia that one day their prince would come in the form of Abdullah, Haakon, Frederick, Felipe, Phillipe and Willem Alexander. Yes, someday your Prince will come.

We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter!

LadyLeana and Zonk (Newsletter editors)

Administrative Notes

Also this month we have some major changes to report. The administrators regret to announce that Tosca and GlitteringTiaras have stepped down from the team. They decided to focus their time more on real life issues. We wish them both well and hope they’ll continue to visit the forums and share their royalty expertise with the rest of us.

Questions about The Royal Forums?
We have a thread in the Support and Feedback forum that contains all sorts of information about TRF and also contains a copy of the Member FAQs for easy reference.

Picture of the Month
Don’t forget to vote for August’s Picture of the Month. There are two polls this month. The official poll highlights the official side of royalty and is here. The unofficial poll features royals going to school and is here.

The Royal Forums Blog
The Royal Forums blog continues to thrive. We have over 40 bloggers, including 18 regular contributors also known as Royal Bloggers.

The blog entries are posted at the TRF Twitter account. We hope TRF members who belong to Twitter will follow us. We also have a group and a page at Facebook.

The Royal Articles
Our article site, The Royal Articles, is for members to write longer and more general articles than are found at the blog. At present the articles site is not publishing articles because we are looking to switch the software that hosts the articles. We expect to resume article publication in the next two or three months.

Since we are unable to use professional photos to illustrate the articles, the editors are very interested in hearing from any members who have taken photos of royals and would be willing to have their photos used in the articles. Also, anyone who would like to try their hand at writing an article should contact one of the editors. The editors are Elspeth, Mandy, Marengo, and TheTruth.

31 August 1970: Rania Al-Yassin (later Queen Rania of Jordan) was born in Kuwait. Her parents are of Palestinian descent. She studied at the American University in Cairo and earned a degree in Business Administration. After her studies she started working. She met then Prince Abdullah in 1993, and they married in that same year. They have four children. Rania became Princess-consort upon the accession of her husband to the throne in February 1999. King Abdullah II proclaimed her Queen of Jordan in March 1999.

17 May 1971: Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti (later Princess of Orange) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She studied economics at the Universidad Catolica Argentina, and worked as an investment banker. She met the Dutch Prince Willem-Alexander in 1999 in Spain. The couple announced their engagement in 2001 and married in 2002. They have three daughters.

5 February 1972: Mary Donaldson (later Princess Mary of Denmark) was born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, where she also graduated from university. She moved to Melbourne after graduation to persue a career in advertising. She met Crown Prince Frederk of Denmark during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. They got engaged in 2003 and were married in 2004. They have two children.

15 September 1972: Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (later Princess of Asturias) was born in Oviedo, but spent most of her youth in Madrid. She studied journalism and was the anchor woman for a program on TVE. She also reported some major foreign events prior to the announcement of her engagement to the Prince of Asturias in 2003. In 1998 she married Alonso Guerrero Perez, but the marriage was dissolved in 1999. The engagement between her and Felipe, the Prince of Asturias, was announced in 2003, and the marriage ceremony conducted in 2004. They have two children.

20 January 1973: Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz (later Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant) was born in Uccle, Belgium. She studied speech therapy in Brussels, and worked as such in her own practice until her engagement to Prince Philippe of Belgium was revealed. During the engagement and after the marriage, she also studied psychology at the Universite Catholique de Louvain. She met Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, in 1997. Their engagement was announced in 1999, and they got married in that same year. They have four children.

20 July 1973: Prince Haakon of Norway was born as second child and only son to then Crown Prince Harald and Crown Princess Sonja of Norway. Crown Prince Haakon studied at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Oslo and the London School of Economics. He married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby in 2001, a choice which caused some controversy as Mette Marit was a single mother with a past considered inappropriate for a Crown Princess. They have two children.

19 August 1973: Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby (later Princess Mette-Marit of Norway) was born in Kristiansand, Norway, where she also grew up. In 1997 she gave birth to her first son, Marius. She married Crown Prince Haakon of Norway in 2001, but she caused some controversy being a single mother with a past considered inappropriate for a Crown Princess. Mette-Marit has two children with Crown Prince Haakon.

15 September 1973: Daniel Westling was born in Ørebro. He is a personal trainer and gym owner. He met Crown Princess Victoria while he was her personal trainer, in 2002. The couple have recently announced their engagement, and the wedding is planned to take place on 19 June 2010 at the Stockholm Cathedral.

25 April 1974: Luis Alphonso de Borbon, son of Alphonso de Borbon, duke of Anjou and legitimist pretender to the French throne and Dona Maria del Carmen Martinez-Bordio y Franco, was born in Madrid. He became Head of the House of Bourbon in 1989, upon his father’s death. He married the Venezuelan Maria Margarita Vargas Santaella in 2004.

14 July 1977: Princess Victoria of Sweden was born in Stockholm as first child to King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Due to a change in the constitution, she remained heir to the throne when her younger brother was born. She studied in France and the USA as well as in Sweden. In 2009 her engagement to Daniel Westling was announced. The marriage is to take place on 19 June 2010 at the Stockholm Cathedral.

10 May 1978: Salma Bennani (later Lalla Salma of Morocco) was born in Fes, Morocco. She was educated in Rabat and earned her baccalaureate in 1995, in science. In 2000, she obtained a degree as Civil Engineer in Computer Science. She worked in Casablanca as an information services engineer at the ONA Group, the country’s largest private holding company, which is controlled by the Moroccan royal family. She met the King during a company party. She married King Mohammed VI in 2002. They have two children.

Royal Marriages and Anniversaries

24 December 1972:Hussein I of Jordan and Alia Baha ed Din Toukan (later Queen Alia) Hussein bin Talal (later Hussein I of Jordan) was born on November 14, 1935, the son of Talal bin Abdullah of Jordan and Zein al Sharaf Talal. Alia Baha ed Din Toukan was born on , the daughter of Bahauddin Toukan, a former Jordanian ambassador to the Court of St. James’s. Prince Hussein survived an assassination attempt in 1951, in which his grandfather, King Abdullah I of Jordan, was killed. His father became King, but abdicated in favour of his 16-year old son, Prince Hussein, who became King in 1953. On December 24, 1972 Alia became the third wife of King Hussein II of Jordan. She was given the title Queen Alia al Hussein. Alia & Hussein had two children (Prince Ali and Princess Haya) and in 1976 adopted a girl whose mother died in a plane crash. Queen Alia fought for many causes, visited hospitals and national institutions. She tragically died in February 1977 after a helicopter crash in Amman. The airport in Amman was renamed in her honor. King Hussein died in 1999.

19 June 1976:Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Silvia Sommerlath (later Queen Silvia) Prince Carl Gustaf of Sweden was born on April 30, 1946, the only son of the late Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Vasterbotten & Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Carl Gustav’s father passed away when he was nine months old. Silvia Sommerlath was born on December 23, 1943, the only daughter of the late Walther Sommerlath & his wife Alice Soares de Toledo. Silvia was born in Heidelberg, Germany. After World War II, the family relocated to Sao Paulo, Brazil for ten years. Silvia met Crown Prince Carl Gustaf at the 1972 Summer Olympics. They were married on June 19, 1976 at Stockholm Cathedral in Stockholm. Their marriage was the first of a reigning monarch since 1797. Silvia and Carl Gustaf are the parents of three children: Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Madeline.

4 September 1976: Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia and Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia Maria Vladimirovna was born on December 23, 1953, the only child of Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich of Russia, Head of the Imperial Family of Russia and Titular Emperor of Russia,and Leonida Georgievna Kirby.Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia was born on September 3, 1943 the son of Prince Franz Josef of Prussia and Princess Henriette of Schoenaich-Carolath The couple married civiliy on September 4, 1976 and religiously on September Septembe 22, 1976. Upon their marriage, Prince Franz converted to the Russian Orthodox faith and was created a Grand Duke of Russia with the name Mikhail Pavlovich. They are the parents of one son, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia. The couple divorced in 1986, and the Grand Duke reverted to his previous name. Grand Duchess Maria has been the disputed claimant to the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia and title Titular Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias, since 1992.

15 June 1978:Hussein I of Jordan and Lisa Halaby (later Queen Noor) Hussein bin Talal (later Hussein I of Jordan) was born on November 14, 1935, the son of Talal bin Abdullah of Jordan and Zein al Sharaf Talal. Lisa Halaby, later Queen Noor of Jordan, was born in Washington D.C. She is the daughter of former CEO of PanAm Najeeb Halaby and his first wife, Doris Carlquist. She received a BA in Architecture and Urban Planning in 1974. She met King Hussein of Jordan while working on the development of the Ammam International Airport. She became his fourth wife in 1978. The couple were the parents of four children: Prince Hamzah, Prince Hashim, Princess Iman and Princess Raya. Upon the marriage, Lisa Halaby converted to Islam and received the name Noor. She was Queen Consort until her husband’s death in 1999. Queen Noor was and still is very active with numerous charities and good causes.

Royal Deaths

14 January 1972: Frederik IX of Denmark was the son of King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine. In 1922 he was engaged to Olga of Greece and Denmark, however he married Ingrid of Sweden on 24 May 1935. They had three daughters but no son. This situation forced an Act of Succession to be passed in 1953, allowing his elder daughter, Margrethe, to sit on the throne. During Frederick’s reign, many changes occurred in Danish Society, transforming the country into a welfare state which meant news demands for the monarchy. He was made Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1951. Just after his New Year’s Address to the Nation of 1972, he became ill. He died in Copenhagen on 14 January 1972 and was buried outside Roskilde Cathedral.

28 May 1972: Duke of Windsor or as he was called before, Edward VIII, was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions. He reigned for less than a year, abdicating on 11 December 1936 and leaving the throne to his younger brother, George VI. His decision was pushed by the crisis he had caused when proposing marriage to an American divorced woman, Wallis Simpson. During World War II, while the couple was stationed in France, they were brought back to Britain by Lord Mountbatten. However, they soon returned to the continent, and faced private accusations of supporting Nazi ideology. After the war, he lived in retirement, away from the public attention. He died in May 1972, aged 77, in Paris. He was buried at Frogmore.

7 July 1972: Talal I of Jordan became King after his father, Abdullah I was killed in Jerusalem. Even with his short reign, he managed to smooth relations between his country and the nearest states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. On 11 August 1952, he abdicated due to health reasons, suspicions of schizophrenia surrounding this decision. He eventually died in July 1972 in Istanbul and was buried in the Royal Mausoleum at the Raghdan Palace in Amman.

7 August 1972: Princess Aspasia of Greece was a Greek commoner who married Alexander I, King of the Hellenes. This union was controverted due to their secret wedding at Tatoi on 4 November 1919, hence her particular title Princess Aspasia of Greece and Denmark rather than Queen of Greece. Her and King Alexander had a daughter who was born 5 months after her father’s tragic death from sepsis. The marriage was retroactively recognized and the child legitimated. She died in Venice and was buried there until her remains were transfered to the Royal Cemetery Plot in the park of Tatoi.

28 November 1972: Princess Sybilla was the mother of the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf. In 1932, she married Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden but was widowed in 1947 when her husband died in an airplane crash. She had tortuous relationships with her children, especially Carl Gustaf who was raised by nannies. Her time in Sweden was very difficult: she never accustomed to the country, didn’t learn the language and endured a lot of pressure to produce an heir. Her German background made it even more complicated to be accepted, particularly due to her father’s support of the Nazis. She died of cancer in 1972.

15 September 1973: Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden was the eldest son of Gustaf V and Victoria of Baden. He became King on 29 October 1950, when his father died. His motto was “Duty before all”. His first wife was Margaret of Connaught with whom he had 5 children before she died suddenly on 1 May 1920, eight months pregnant of her sixth child. In 1923, he married Lady Louise Mountbatten, sister of Louis Mountbatten, uncle of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, but their only child produced was stillborn. He died in September 1973 and was buried next to his two wives in Haga.

9 February 1977: Queen Alia of Jordan was the third wife of Hussein of Jordan. They had two children and adopted a daughter. She fought for many causes, visited hospitals and national institutions. In 1974, she obtained the right for women to elect and be elected for parliament but the suspension of parliamentary life between 1974 and 1989 prevented its application. She tragically died in February 1977 after a helicopter crash in Amman. The airport was later renamed after her.

15 November 1977: Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois was the daughter of Marie Juliette Louvet, a cabaret singer, and Prince Louis II. After the death of her father, she was still illegitimate to the eyes of the sovereign family until 1911 when a law passed. She married Pierre de Polignac who took the surname of Grimaldi and became Prince of Monaco. They had 2 children: Antoinette and Rainier. On May 1944, she renounced to her rights to the throne to her son, Rainier. She died in 1977 in Paris.

27 August 1979: Lord Louis Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of the British Indian Empire. He married Edwina Ashley in 1922 and had two daughters, Patricia and Pamela. He had a strong influence on his great-nephew and current Prince of Wales. His mission in India was to give satisfaction to both camps, Gandhi’s and Jinnah’s. Eventually, he succeeded by splitting the old Empire in two. Mountbatten died suddenly at the age of 79 when his boat exploded at Mullaghmore in the Republic of Ireland. This assassination was orchestrated by the IRA. He was buried in Romsey Abbey after a televised funeral in Westminster Abbey.

Accessions, Enthronements, Jubilees, and Abdications

14 January 1972: Accession of Margrethe II of Denmark upon the death of her father, King Frederik IX of Denmark. She is the first reigning Queen since Margrethe I in the 14th century.

15 September 1973: Accession of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden upon the death of his grandfather, King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden.

19 September 1973: Investiture of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden as King at the Hall of State of the Royal Palace of Stockholm.

22 November 1975: Accession of Juan Carlos I of Spain, upon the death of dictator Francisco Franco, who had appointed him as the next ruler of Spain.

27 November 1975: Coronation of Juan Carlos I of Spain.

6 February 1977: Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee, celebrated with several events throughout the Commonwealth.

16 January 1979: Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran exiled after years of political turmoil. The Shah died in exile in 1980, while in Egypt.

Major World Events

9 August 1974: Resignation of President Richard Nixon. Richard Nixon was elected President of the United States in 1968 and re-elected in 1972. In summer 1972 a break-in was discovered at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington DC. The conspirators were attempting to find information about the Democratic presidential campaign and place wiretaps on the phones. The break-in had been engineered by prominent members of the Nixon administration, who proceeded to try and cover up their involvement. When it became clear that the President knew about and was involved in the cover-up, he resigned the office of President rather than face impeachment by the US Congress. On 9 August 1974 he left office, the only US President in history to resign, and was succeeded by the Vice President, Gerald Ford.

30 Aril 1975: End of the Vietnam War. In the early 1970s President Nixon was attempting to reduce the number of US servicemen in Vietnam and turn security over to Vietnamese forces. Anti-war feelings in the United States were on the increase, and in May 1970 four protesters were shot and killed by National Guard soldiers at Kent State University, causing outrage among the public, and the 1972 congressional elections resulted in a Congress supporting an end of US involvement, as did the 1974 elections. A series of peace talks failed to guarantee South Vietnamese sovereignty, but the US Congress and public were insisting on US troop withdrawal. As the US troops withdrew, North Vietnamese troops invaded the south, and in late April 1975 had taken Saigon. On 30 April the South Vietnamese government fell, and the war ended in victory for the Communist North.

1978: The year of three Popes. Pope Paul VI, who had been Pope since 1963, died on 6 August. His successor, Albino Luciani, the Patriarch of Venice, was elected to replace him, and took the name John Paul I after his election on 26 August. He was set to be a more liberal Pope than his predecessor, and was much admired for his humanity. On the morning of 28 September he was found dead, apparently of a heart attack. There have been conspiracy theories about his death since his liberal leanings did not find favour in some circles. His successor was the Polish Karol Wojtyla, Archbishop of Krakow, who became the first non-Italian Pope for several hundred years. He was elected on 15 October and took the Papal name John Paul II. He became a very influential and well travelled leader in the latter part of the 20th century and is credited for being a major factor in the fall of communism. After surviving an assassination attempt in 1981 that nearly killed him, he eventually died in April 2005 from complications of influenza.